Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was AWESOME! We went to New Hampshire to visit my family and had so much fun. The only downside is that we were only there for a week and it went so so fast. I had not had Thanksgiving with my family since high school so it was a treat to be able to spend the holiday in my hometown. I was also able to visit wonderful friends that I had not seen in a while so it was great. Let me just warn you I was horrible at taking pictures. I would have like to take pictures of the Thanksgiving feast and everyone that was there, but I think I was just enjoying it too much and forgot to get some pictures. But the meal was great. Everyone pitched in and made it a very enjoyable and yummy day. What can I say I always love visiting family and friends and right when I leave I want to go back again. It was a great break from my normal life, and I am so thankful we were able to make the trip.

We cut Liam's hair for the first time in NH! It was getting really long. But I do miss his curls. This is before the hair cut. And,

This is after. I think he looks a little less like a baby now and more like a big boy.

On Tuesday we made a trip down to Boston to pick up Roland's brother Adrian at MIT. He then had Thanksgiving with us too which was a bonus! We took a lot of pictures while we were exploring MIT.

It was really cold in New Hampshire. I think I am growing soft here in Dallas. Liam didn't like the cold much either.

Grandma and Grandson

My family's new dog Bailey. I was a little nervous at first, but Liam and Bailey became best friends. Liam loved to pet him and Bailey liked to try and steal Liam's food.

Plane ride back to Dallas. Liam was able to get his own seat which was amazing because he was comfortable and slept. So did his parents:)

Roland Won a Photo Contest

We found out last week that Roland won 1st prize in the River/Ponds category of the Trinity River Photo Contest. Today I got to pick up his certificate at the Dallas City Council Meeting(Roland had a test). It was all very formal. I had to go through a metal detector and they searched my bag. I was so glad that had someone watch Liam (thanks Lauren) because it was a very kid free zone. Everyone at the meeting looked really important and you could definitely tell who was there for the photo contest. When they called the Amateur division (There were three divisions:Professional, Amateur and Youth) up I got to shake hands with the Mayor of Dallas and he was the one who read all the names. It was fun and out of the ordinary to be able to go the meeting and I am so happy for Roland for winning.(There were about 850 photos entered). He is so talented at many things. Here is the winning photo. It was taken at sunrise and features three herons.

Reverting back to the baby ways

The other day we were watching our friend's 2 month old baby. We got the swing out so that we could get the baby to sleep. We left it out and the next day Liam wanted nothing more than to climb in his old swing. He loved to swing with his blanket and lounge. Another baby thing that he has been weirdly picking up is pacifiers. He has never used a pacifier, but we have them in a drawer because we thought he might use them. He found the stash one day and had been using them as toys. I think he has seen other kids with and thinks they are cool or something. He will stick it in his mouth, and walk around with it. It is a little funny that he is still shows interest in the baby stuff even though he is becoming such a big boy.

Lots has changed in a year and an half

What a difference a year makes

It has recently been cold enough to start bundling Liam up and it got me thinking about how much Liam has really grown. I remember doing the same thing last year when we would go outside and thinking oh I am sure he will stay like this forever. But he didn't. He has grown up so fast and although he is super cute and fun now sometimes I find myself missing the little baby in the car seat. So for picture explanation, I was walking earlier this week and he was all bundled up and he actually feel asleep. This hasn't happened in a long time. A year ago it used to happen all the time. So that is really what got me thinking about how big he is now. What a difference a year makes.

Liam a year ago

Liam a few days ago

Trick or Treat!

On Saturday night our ward held a trunk or treat Halloween activity for the kids. It was so much fun. I enjoyed taking Liam around to all the cars saying, "Trick or Treat," for him, and then watching him drop his candy into his bag. He was the cutest turtle ever! And although he did not stay in the costume all night it was a big hit.

This is a look we get quite often now

I did not get too creative with my costume

Action Shot

Love this picture. No one was quite sure what Roland was(including me). He got back from a scout activity and just ran around grabbing random things from the house before we had to go. He was exhausted from the scout activity but still had some fun.

Getting some grub

Messy face

Dropping the candy in

The last part of the activity was a march with all the kids in their costumes. As you can see we had a naked turtle (no shell) at this point.

So it was a fun night. Liam got a fair amount of candy (which his parents have eaten quite a lot of) and had fun running around with all the other kids. Happy Halloween!

No good, very bad week...

That was last week. It was filled with checking account thieves (from online somewhere), sickness, cell phone bill issues, insurance issues and more. On Friday when we got a nail stuck in our tire we were not even surprised. It was just part of this no good very bad week. Of course there were some positives. There always are right? Liam looked amazingly cute in his costume for trunk or treat, we got to hang out with friends (who took care of me when I was stressing) and the best was when the bad week was over. Now it is a new week and even a new month so onwards and upwards. Everyone has to have weeks like that right? Well maybe not but it makes me feel better.